Supply chain visibility used to rank countries

Switzerland, Austria and Japan were top performers in a ranking of supply chain resilience.

The 2017 FM Global Resilience Index measured control of corruption, quality of infrastructure, local supplier quality and a new measure of supply chain visibility, defined as the ability to track and trace goods across a country’s supply chain.

Haiti was ranked last in the supply chain sub category, followed by Myanmar and Guinea.

Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, Finland, Hong Kong, Singapore and Denmark made up the rest of the top 10. The UK is at 18.

Switzerland also took top place in the overall chart, which took into account other factors such as productivity, exposure to natural hazards, cyber risk and political risk.

Switzerland’s position was due to its infrastructure and local suppliers, its political stability, control of corruption and economic productivity, the report said.

Luxembourg has made a steady rise from eighth place in 2013 to second due to a reduction in oil reliance and a growing services sector.

Its strong financial sector, network of service providers and responsive business-friendly regulations mean it is well-placed to benefit from financial institutions that may quit Britain following Brexit, the report added.

The lowest-ranking country in the overall index was Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world, followed by Venezuela.

The South American country’s exposure to wind and earthquake, perception of extensive corruption, poor infrastructure and poor perceptions of local supplier quality were responsible for its low scores.

Saudi Arabia (ranked 56 overall), Bahrain (44), United Arab Emirates (32) and Qatar (13) were the four countries with the highest exposure to cyber risk.

Saudi Arabia’s high internet penetration, combined with a limited cyber security industry, made it vulnerable to cyber attack, while India was ranked as a country with below-average inherent cyber risk.